’Youcan’tunderstand，BessWeareinsightoflandnow，andsoonweshallliebackandthinkaboutwhatwe’vedoneI’llgiveyouthreemonths’paywhenthepicture’sfinished，andnexttimeIhaveanymoreworkinhand——butthatdoesn’tmatterWon’tthreemonths’paymakeyouhatemeless？’
’No，itwon’t！Ihateyou，andI’llgoonhatingyouMrTorpenhowwon’tspeaktomeanymoreHe’salwayslookingatmaps。’
BessiedidnotsaythatshehadagainlaidsiegetoTorpenhow，orthatattheendofourpassionatepleadinghehadpickedherup，givenherakiss，andputheroutsidethedoorwiththerecommendationnottobealittlefoolHespentmostofhistimeinthecompanyoftheNilghai，andtheirtalkwasofwarinthenearfuture，thehiringoftransports，andsecretpreparationsamongthedockyardsHedidnotwishtoseeDicktillthepicturewasfinished。
’He’sdoingfirst-classwork，’hesaidtotheNilghai，’andit’squiteoutofhisregularlineBut，forthematterofthat，so’shisinfernalsoaking。’
’NevermindLeavehimaloneWhenhehascometohissensesagainwe’llcarryhimofffromthisplaceandlethimbreathecleanair。
PoorDick！Idon’tenvyyou，Torp，whenhiseyesfail。’
’Yes，itwillbeacaseof“Godhelpthemanwho’schainedtoourDavie。”
Theworstisthatwedon’tknowwhenitwillhappen，andIbelievetheuncertaintyandthewaitinghavesentDicktothewhiskeymorethananythingelse。’
’HowtheArabwhocuthisheadopenwouldgrinifheknew！’
’He’satperfectlibertytogrinifhecanHe’sdeadThat’spoorconsolationnow。’
IntheafternoonofthethirddayTorpenhowheardDickcallingforhim。
’Allfinished！’heshouted’I’vedoneit！Comein！Isn’tsheabeauty？
Isn’tsheadarling？I’vebeendowntohelltogether；butisn’tsheworthit？’
Torpenhowlookedattheheadofawomanwholaughed，——afull-lipped，hollow-eyedwomanwholaughedfromoutofthecanvasasDickhadintendedshewould。
’Whotaughtyouhowtodoit？’saidTorpenhow’ThetouchandnotionhavenothingtodowithyourregularworkWhatafaceitis！Whateyes，andwhatinsolence！’Unconsciouslyhethrewbackhisheadandlaughedwithher’She’sseenthegameplayedout，——Idon’tthinkshehadagoodtimeofit，——andnowshedoesn’tcareIsn’tthattheidea？’
’Exactly。’
’Wheredidyougetthemouthandchinfrom？Theydon’tbelongtoBess。’
’They’re——someoneelse’sButisn’titgood？Isn’titthunderinggood？
Wasn’titworththewhiskey？IdiditAloneIdidit，andit’sthebestI
cando。’Hedrewhisbreathsharply，andwhispered，’JustGod！
whatcouldInotdotenyearshence，ifIcandothisnow！——Bytheway，whatdoyouthinkofit，Bess？’
ThegirlwasbitingherlipsSheloathedTorpenhowbecausehehadtakennonoticeofher。
’Ithinkit’sjustthehorridest，beastliestthingIeversaw，’sheanswered，andturnedaway。
’Morethanyouwillbeofthatwayofthinking，youngwoman——Dick，there’sasortofmurderous，viperinesuggestioninthepoiseoftheheadthatIdon’tunderstand，’saidTorpenhow。
That’strick-work，’saidDick，chucklingwithdelightatbeingcompletelyunderstood’Icouldn’tresistonelittlebitofsheerswaggerIt’saFrenchtrick，andyouwouldn’tunderstand；butit’sgotatbyslewingroundtheheadatrifle，andatiny，tinyforeshorteningofonesideofthefacefromtheangleofthechintothetopoftheleftearThat，anddeepeningtheshadowunderthelobeoftheearItwasflagranttrick-work；but，havingthenotionfixed，Ifeltentitledtoplaywithit，——Oh，youbeauty！’
’Amen！SheisabeautyIcanfeelit。’
’Sowilleverymanwhohasanysorrowofhisown，’saidDick，slappinghisthigh’Heshallseehistroublethere，and，bytheLordHarry，justwhenhe’sfeelingproperlysorryforhimselfheshallthrowbackhisheadandlaugh，——assheislaughingI’veputthelifeofmyheartandthelightofmyeyesintoher，andIdon’tcarewhatcomesI’mtired，——awfullytiredIthinkI’llgettosleepTakeawaythewhiskey，ithasserveditsturn，andgiveBessiethirty-sixquid，andthreeoverforluckCoverthepicture。’
Hedroppedasleepinthelongchair，hidfacewhiteandhaggard，almostbeforehehadfinishedthesentenceBessietriedtotakeTorpenhow’shand’Aren’tyounevergoingtospeaktomeanymore？’shesaid；
butTorpenhowwaslookingatDick。
’Whatastockofvanitythemanha...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：